Heartbeat of Absolute
by Kav23
Summary: Reid was attacked and Jack was kidnapped when both were buying some food. With Reid fighting for his life, will Hotch find his son, unharmed, in time? Can Reid forgive himself? No slash, family fiction.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone.**

**Enjoy and looking forward to hear from all of you.**

**Have a nice day. Please review.**

"How could it even be possible?"

Upon hearing Reid's distressed voice; Kate set her pen down and brought her eye sight up to match Reid's. "What happened, Reid?"

"What happened?" Reid whispered the question again. "The coffee machine broke down; do you have any idea what does that mean?

Kate raised her eyebrow, wondering how a person can be so disturbed by the fact a coffee machine not functioning. "Erm … I am not sure if I want to know the consequences of that."

"That means…" Reid checked his watch. "… No coffee for the next six hours!" Reid panicked. "How I can survive that?"

"Reid…" Kate called as she raised both her hands, in posture to calm him down. "I am sure we can fix that."

"We're going to fix what?" Morgan appeared suddenly out of nowhere, and stood beside Reid as he wrapped right hand around Reid's shoulders.

Before Reid could answer, Morgan spoke. "Oh, wait… this is…" Morgan circled his pointing finger across Reid's face; "one of my pretty boy with serious face. What happened, Kid?"

"Apparently, the coffee machine is not working." Kate said.

Morgan chucked.

"Morgan!" Reid hissed.

"One good news, I have been thinking how to decrease his caffeine intake." JJ said from the other table.

"I don't drink much." Reid justified.

"Drink, a very wrong word to describe the way you consume coffee." Garcia questioned. "Wonder boy, you gulp down liters of coffee every day."

"Since when drinking a cup coffee is a crime?"

The others shared a little moment of laughs, when Reid stared back and forth between his teammates "What?"

Garcia jumped off of Reid table, walked straight to Reid, and pinched both sides of his cheeks as she said "Reid, you're too cute."

"Garcia!" Reid squeaked.

"What's the discussion about?" Rossi appeared with Hotch beside him.

"Hey, Jack" JJ smiled and waved towards the boy. "Hotch, I didn't know Jack was here."

"Yes." Hotch ruffled Jack's hair as he answered. "Jessica had some emergency work to deal with. Jack was a little bored to stay at home and besides, it's only paperwork only so I though why not?"

"Sir, you should have told me." Garcia smiled. "I could have entertained Jack."

"Thank you, Garcia, but he has enough homework to finish before he goes back to school."

Jack was a little shy of sudden attention he was getting, he smiled gently before he waved towards the others.

"Where are you going, Kid?"

"Out, across the street to get a cup of coffee."

"Reid." The others called in union.

"If you guys don't want to hear on statistics of people becoming violent due to lack of caffeine …"

"Reid."

"Hotch, not you too." Reid grumbled.

"Actually, I was about to ask you if it's okay for you to take Jack with you to buy him lunch?"

"Oh…"

"Is it okay with you? I have some emergency meeting to attend to."

"Sure." Reid smiled as he looked at Jack.

"Reid, make sure he gets something healthy." Hotch spoke with a stern voice.

"I am sure we can work on that, don't we Jack?" Reid asked as he took Jack's hand from Hotch. "It's okay, Hotch. Jack's lunch is on me." Reid said when he saw Hotch reaching for his wallet.

"In that case, pack something for us too, pretty boy." Morgan said.

"Somebody was saying anything, Jack?" Reid asked, pretending not to hear.

"That's rude, Reid!" Morgan shook his head.

CM-CM-CM

"Any idea on what you want to have, Jack?" Reid asked as he held Jack's hand before both crossed the busy road.

"Pizza." Jack said.

"Are you sure?" Reid confirmed.

Jack shook his head.

"Well, if you're sure, let's go then." Reid took out his phone and sent a message.

_Will get some pizza for you guys, don't slip your paperwork on my stack. Reid._

_Geez, thank, pretty boy. Oh, come on, I don't do that. Morgan. _

_Yeah, we will know that when I check the files on my stack. Reid._

Almost fifteen minutes later, Reid and Jack walked out of the shop carrying some packed food for others.

"Thanks, Uncle Spencer." Jack said before he took a bite from the chocolate bar.

"Don't tell your dad, I get you that." Reid pointed towards the chocolate.

"Don't worry, it's our secret."

Reid held the packed food in one hand and Jack's hand in his other hand. "Let's get going before it's too late."

Both, Reid and Jack almost crossed the road when Reid heard a loud noise approaching their way. Reid turned behind slightly and his eyes grew wide when he saw the truck speeding towards them.

Reid didn't know if what he did what was right. His only priority was Jack and his safely. His instincts pushed Jack to the side.

Jack was taken aback by Reid's sudden and harsh act. Jack has landed on the roadway cruelly, however, quickly recomposed himself and barely could shout when he saw Reid being slammed by the truck.

"Uncle Spencer!" Jack cried when he saw Reid barely unconscious after being run down by the truck.

Despite the pain killing his head, Jack ran and kneeled beside Reid. "Uncle Spencer, wake up."

"Ja… ck." Reid coughed. "Run!"

Jack has no time to react; a strong hand wrapped around his waist, pulling him off the ground. Jack struggled against the muscular arms.

Barely conscious, Reid watched helplessly as the masked man grabbed Jack from him. "Leave him… alone."

Darkness was slowly surrounding to engulf him. He could hardly breathe.

"No!" Jack cried before he was shoved into the back of the truck. "Don't shoot him!"

Reid could hardly hear Jack's voice. With his blurred vision, Reid could figure out a barrel of a gun being pointed towards him.

His eyelids disobey his commands and closed for once. A loud noise echoed, followed by an excruciating pain being added to his already injured body.

His body and mind gave up on everything it was holding on to.

His heart beats only one rhythm.

_Jack _

**Sincere apologies for the mistakes. Please review.**

**Thank you.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, everyone.**

**Enjoy and looking forward to hear from all of you.**

**Have a nice day. Please review.**

Hotch quickly checked his notes and exhaled deeply as he was satisfied with the preparations done for the sudden meeting announced about an hour ago. As he closed the notebook, Hotch checked his watch; he still has ten minutes before the meeting begins and there was no sign of Jack.

Hotch walked out of his room. "JJ, are they back yet?"

"No."

"Aren't they supposed to be back?" Kate questioned as she checked her watch. "Just because he is taking boss's son out, it doesn't mean he gets extra time."

Morgan chucked as he flipped through his paperwork.

"JJ, I am rushing to attend the meeting, can you take care of Jack …"

JJ held up her hand. "Hotch, I got you covered."

"Thanks." Hotch was about to turn away off when two men walked in.

"We were told that we could meet Dr. Spencer Reid's team here." One of the men spoke gaining the team's attention including Hotch.

"He is my team member." Hotch shook his hand with both the men. "Aaron Hotcher. Can I help you?"

"Detective James, Sir and this is my colleague Detective Danny. I am sorry; I brought some bad news. Your agent was shot across the street."

The word shot sent all onto the edge. "What?" Hotch whispered in surprise. It is impossible; Reid has gone out to get some food. That's it.

"You must have got the wrong guy." He tried to reason.

"I don't think so, Sir." James rose up his hand and showed the bloodied badge, gun in the transparent evidence bag.

Morgan quickly snatched the bag and checked.

If it isn't for Rossi, Hotch would have fallen down. The news is just too much for him.

"What about the small boy with him?" Rossi asked on behalf of Hotch.

"He's my son. What happened to him?" Hotch questioned, slightly terrified of the answer he might get.

"There was no sign of any boy when we arrived at the scene."

"However," Danny spoke, "When I was talking to one of the eyewitnesses, she said she saw a boy and the guy who shot your agent took the boy."

Jack has been kidnapped. The word ringed like an alarm in Hotch's ears.

"Okay. Everyone, listen up." Rossi took charge of the situation; He knew Hotch has too much to handle in right now.

"Let's buckle up; we have to get back Jack. Kate, go through the crime scene with these Detectives. I need all single tiny information." Rossi helped Hotch to settle into a chair nearby.

"Garcia, look up for all security footage, you need an extra hand, take Kevin with you."

"On it," Garcia quickly raced back to her room.

"And Morgan…" Rossi turned towards Morgan.

Morgan grabbed his jacket from his chair. "I am going to check on Reid."

"Right." Rossi said. "See, if you can get anything from him if possible."

Rossi turned back to Hotch and sat on his heels, matching Hotch's height.

"Dave, I can't …"

"I know, Aaron. I am going to take charge, and we are going to find your son; I promise. JJ, stay with him."

"Where are you going?" JJ asked, her tone clearly showed she was upset.

"I am going to have a word with the Director; we need all hands on this, and Spencer's going to be fine."

Tears were threatening in the corner of the eyes. "You don't know that."

"True, I don't know that, but I know Spencer Reid. That kid is a fighter."

CM-CM-CM

Kate kneeled down and sat on her heels. Being an FBI agent, she sees a pool of blood on the crime scene every time, but she will never get used to see one belongs to one of their own.

"_You got to fight this, Reid_." She mumbled to herself before she rose up. "Where is she?"

"She is right there." Detective James pointed at a girl sitting in the corner on the bench outside the shop.

Kate quickly walked up to the girl and sat next to her.

"I didn't know buying pizza can be so dangerous." The girl smiled slightly, trying to hide the anxiety kicking in.

"My name is Kate Callahan. There is no reason to be afraid. Is there anything else you can remember?"

"Mary." She said simply. "We came out of the shop at the same time. They were going back, I guess, when this truck come out of nowhere."

"Can you tell anything about the truck?"

"Dark blue, the windows were tinted, I can't recall the number plate, I am sorry."

"It's okay." Kate rubbed her back. "Go on."

"The guy saw the truck coming, and he pushed the boy to the side." Mary stopped and her eyes grew wide.

Kate knew something stopped Mary from talking.

"They wanted the boy!" She almost screamed.

"Calm down, Mary." Kate spoke. "Breathe in and out."

Mary did as she was told and she calmed down.

"Now, tell me."

"The jacket, I was just too nervous, I almost missed it."

"What jacket, Mary?" Kate inquired.

"When we were waiting for our order, there was one guy waiting slightly away along with us, he was wearing cap, trying his best to hide his face. He kept staring at the boy. He almost knocked me down on the way out."

Mary inhaled before she continued. "As he passed by, I heard him saying in the phone _'get the car, they are heading out, we have to do this right this time.'_

"And the stupid jacket he was wearing got the logo of the Avengers movie on its back. It's the same jacket I saw when the guy got out the car and took the boy."

Mary clasped her hands together. "I am so sorry, there was so much going in my mind, I just …"

"It's okay. You helped us a lot. Listen, take this." Kate handed her name card. "This police officer is going to take back home, get some sleep, and if in case you remember anything else, give me a call, okay?"

"I will." Mary said.

Kate rose from the bench. "And Mary, thank you."

Mary looked puzzled.

"They said, you called for help immediately, and you stayed beside my friend."

CM-CM-CM

"Sir, he is still in surgery."

"Well, I need more information than that." Morgan grumbled.

"There nothing I can tell until…"

"Listen lady." Morgan spoke. "His name is Dr. Spencer Reid, one the finest FBI agent I have ever seen in my life. Today, he was shot in the middle road and the boy who was with him is still out there, missing, so I need more than he is still in surgery."

"I will see what I can get."

Morgan sighed when the nurse left. He didn't mean to talk such way but he just needed to know if Reid would be alright. Morgan sat on the couch, leaned against it, and closed his eyes.

His mind wandered to Jack. _God know how the kid is_, he thought. Next, he thought about Hotch and then Reid.

His team wouldn't be the same again if something happened to Jack.

_No, it can't be_. Morgan thought. _Jack, hang on buddy, we are coming for you_.

"Sir?"

Morgan opened his eyes, "You got anything? How's he doing?"

"Dr. Reid was shot approximately 3 cm above the nipple. The bullet went through both of his lungs before it stopped between eighth and ninth ribs."

"Oh, no..."

"The doctors are doing everything they can, just hang on."

CM-CM-CM-

"I guess it's not helping."

Hotch turned the tap off, took a tissue and wiped his face. "I lost Haley."

Rossi walked in and stood beside Hotch. "Nothing is going to happen to Jack."

Hotch sighed as he looked himself in the mirror.

"Look I know it's a difficult situation but your son…"

"He needs me." Hotch finished the sentences and he looked up to Rossi. "I just needed to clear my head."

"Kate called." Rossi said.

"And?" Hotch asked.

"We might have something, but we need to get it checked."

"What is it?" Hotch asked.

"From what she told, they were after Jack. I think someone is trying to get to you and the easiest way is Jack."

"Son of a…"

"And Hotch, this might not have been the first time."

**Sincere apologies for the mistakes. Please review.**

**Thank you.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, everyone.**

**Enjoy and looking forward to hear from all of you.**

"I came as fast I could. Aaron, what is going on?" Jessica asked as she hugged Hotch.

"Jack has been taken."

Jessica sat on chair, shocked with the news that she had heard."Do we know who did this?"

"We are trying to figure it out." Kate said.

Rossi was about to talk further when he was interrupted by Agent Oliver.

"Aaron…"

"Agent Oliver, we have a situation here…" Rossi spoke, but was cut in the middle by Agent Oliver.

"I know who took your son."

"What?" Hotch asked in surprise. "How?"

"Two weeks ago, my team has been referred a case, child abduction. Five were abducted, but returned safely when the parents paid the ransom money."

"How do you think it's connected?" Hotch asked.

"We almost got everything about them, it's a team work, two men abducts the kid, hand them to a man and a woman who pretends to be a husband and wife and keeps the kid until one man deals with the parents, get the money and within a few hours the kids are found wandering in the place they have gone missing." Oliver answered.

"Who calls and ask the money from the parents?" JJ asked.

"A man talks by the name, Black Eye."

"What happened, then?"

Oliver inhaled before he continued. "A girl, Sarah was taken from her school this week, we worked on everything we got so far, planned accordingly and we got lucky, when we saved the girl, we caught one man who abducts the girl and at the same time, we caught the husband and wife."

"You broke the chain they have been working." Rossi said.

"Yes and he was pissed. I got this message two days back." Oliver showed the paper he was holding.

_Don't be too proud, Oliver. Let's see what you will do when I take one of your own._

_Black Eye._

"I alerted everyone in my team. Every kid in our family is placed under protective custody."

"I guess that pissed him more." Kate said.

"And I got this ten minutes ago." Oliver sighed heavily before he showed a picture of Jack fast asleep on the back of the seat with _'what you will do now, Black Eye.'_ words written behind the photo.

"I am so sorry, Aaron. I thought I got everything under control." Guilt was clearly visible in Oliver's voice. "Your son has been taken, Dr. Reid…"

"Oliver." Hotch touched Oliver's shoulders. "He is doing things to weak you down; don't let him win."

Oliver nodded, still not convinced of the answer he has received. "My team is ready to brief you guys on all the details of the case we have got so far. I have asked Kevin to share everything he has on the case with Garcia."

"Let's do this." Hotch said before he started to walk out the room. "He has chosen the wrong person to mess with."

-CM-CM-CM-

_ "Eat in or take away, Sir?"_

_"Take away, please."_

_"Your order, Sir?"_

_"Well, I will go for 2 large pizzas; Chicken Pepperoni and Hawaiian Chicken, one personal pizza; Spicy Tuna; also one garlic cheese onion rings and one breadstick, please." _

_"Is the personal pizza is for Uncle Derek, Uncle Spencer?"_

_"Yes."_

_"But I thought Uncle Derek doesn't like Tuna."_

_"Yes, he hates tuna."_

_Jack raised his eyebrows, not understanding._

_"It's a game we play, Jack. It has been going on for some time now. What is your best friend's name, Jack?"_

_"Harry."_

_"Do you like if Harry slips in his homework in your bag, Jack?"_

_"No." The boy answered and opened his mouth in shock. "Uncle Derek does that to you?"_

_"All the time."_

_Jack thought for a second and smiled a little. "Uncle Spencer, you are evil."_

_The small boy giggled and turned again towards the table in the corner of the room. Reid sensed Jack looking at something._

_'Oh, Jack.' Reid thought when he saw mother feeding a boy approximately same age as Jack. Reid gently touched Jack's shoulders._

_"I miss her sometimes." Jack turned back to face Reid. "My mother, but I don't cry, dad said mom would feel sad if I cry."_

_Reid was a little unsure of what he should say, but somehow he could understand Jack's feeling. "I am sorry you don't get to spend time with her, Jack, but remember one thing, your mother would be proud of you because she knows how strong her son is."_

_Jack smiled a little. "Thank you, Uncle Spencer; don't tell dad what I said, he would be sad."_

_"Only if you promise not to tell your dad the game I and Uncle Derek is playing."_

_"Deal."_

_"All right, buddy. Let's go; our order is ready."_

_…_

_"Jack… run!"_

"His BP is dropping, we need some extra hand here."

_"Leave him… alone." _

"Charging"

_"Oh, god! Sir, stay awake, the ambulances will be here soon."_

"Clear"

-CM-CM-CM-

"Garcia, you said you got something to show us." Hotch asked.

"Yes. Kevin and I, we worked on a few things" Garcia said as she showed the video footage of Jack being taken.

"You get anything from the number plate, Garcia?" Kate asked.

"We checked." Kevin answered. "It was stolen. The truck was reported missing since yesterday morning."

"What else you got, Garcia?" Rossi asked.

"When the truck took off, I downloaded all the traffic footage; we followed all the way, until they dumped the truck and they took off with Metro."

"How are we are going to track them?" JJ asked.

"See this." Garcia said as she pulled a video and clicked play. The video showed two men getting down off the trunk, acting normally and one of them was carrying Jack.

"One of them is not so smart." Garcia commented as the video showed the one carrying Jack, turned around and accidently his face was clearly caught by the camera across the street.

"Meet Alfonso Ernesto López. Guess who is his sister?" Garcia asked, looking at Oliver.

"Maria López." Oliver answered. "She is the wife we have arrested."

"Unlike her sister, Alfonso has quite a record, but check this out, ten years back he was arrested in a case involving child abduction."

"What happened to the child?" JJ asked.

"Returned safely after the ransom money was paid." Kevin said.

"What happened to the case?" Rossi said.

"Alfonso was not charged due to lack of evidence." Garcia answered.

"Something..." Kate began, but she stopped when Oliver signaled to them as he lowered his phone and set it on speaker.

"Oliver...Oliver, what will you do now, man? I mean it must be very hard for you. I told you I would take one of your own."

"The fight is between you and me, Black Eye." Oliver said as he looked at Hotch.

"I tried and besides, there is no fun if I have taken your son, you would have suffered, yes; but the now, isn't this moment is more than perfect, I mean all the disappointment, guilt, blazing rage, oh my, I touched a nerve didn't I, Agent Oliver?"

"What do you want?" Oliver hissed.

"Let's see, Agent Hotcher?"

**Have a nice day. ****Sincere apologies for the mistakes. Please review.**

**Thank you.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, everyone.**

**Enjoy and looking forward to hear from all of you.**

Morgan tapped his fingers on his knees nervously, waiting for each and every second to pass. Just as his thoughts was wondering, his phone buzzed.

"Hey, baby girl."

"Hey, do we have any word yet?"

"No, he's still in surgery."

"And?" Garcia asked.

"You know these doctors, you don't get anything out of them, but they… they seemed positive." Morgan tried to convince Garcia.

"But you don't sound so positive."

"Penelope, I am just nervous, that's it. I just want Reid to be okay. How about Jack? Do we have any lead yet?"

"Yes." Garcia began and explained everything that has happened so far. "He said he would call back in half an hour time, to talk to Hotch."

Morgan sighed. "How is Hotch?"

"I think you know better than I do." Garcia sighed from the other side.

"I should be there, helping you guys to find Jack. There is nothing much I can do there, except getting frustrated very second."

"You're helping us already, Derek. We could concentrate here because we know that you are there and you would take care of our baby boy."

"Listen, I got to go; call me the second you hear anything, okay." Garcia ended the call and as she exhaled deeply, Garcia entered back the conference room.

"How is Spence?" JJ asked, and the others looked at Garcia.

"He's in surgery."

"He's still in surgery?" Hotch asked, surprised.

Garcia nodded.

"Guys, he's in good hands. We still have ten minutes before he calls; Aaron are you ready for this?" Rossi questioned.

"I am." Hotch answered with full confidence in his voice.

-CM-CM-CM-

"I need to speak to my son."

"If you give me what I want, I will give back what belongs to you."

"How can I trust you?" Hotch asked.

"I am in charge here, and besides you have no choice, Agent Hotcher. Let me show you."

"Show me? What do you mean?" Hotch asked, looking at others.

"I have left you a package on the bench, right side your office building. Go and get it, I will wait on the line."

Hotch as just surprised as others, snapped out of the moment, grabbed the phone and ran out the room. Hotch reached outside of his office building in record breaking time. He jogged to the right side and eyed the bench nearby. On the third bench, Hotch saw a small boy matching to Jack's body size, sitting with his back facing Hotch. Hotch knew it was Jack but something was not right. Without calling his name, Hotch increased his speed and stopped dead. Wearing an oversized white shirt, Jack sat on a bench with tears in his eyes.

"Dad." The little boy called, fear was visible in his voice.

Hotch feared the most when Jack didn't move an inch even after seeing his father. In the corner of his shirt, Hotch could see something blinking from inside.

"Dad, don't." Jack said when he saw his father reaching his hands to his shirt.

"Don't worry, buddy. I will be careful."

Hotch tried not to get panicked in front of his son. He doubted if it is possible. Sweat trickled down his forehead.

"Aaron, what is it?" Rossi came forward, running.

"Dave, calm him down." Hotch said, before he picked up the phone.

"You sick, son of …. You strapped a bomb to my son's chest!"

"You might want to watch your language, Agent Hotcher; you don't want me push a little button here and your son …"

"What do you want?"

"Great, let's get down to our business, shall we?"

-CM-CM-CM-

"Family of Spencer Reid?"

Morgan snapped out of the thought his mind was dragging him to and looked up, "Thank god; how is he?" Morgan said as he flashed his FBI badge.

"Is he alright?" Morgan inquired.

"He's alive." The young male doctor said. "Dr. Reid sustained a broken leg which was well taken care of. With the help of physical therapy, he would be able to walk. He also suffered from concussion which is healing. He has a sprained wrist, two cracked ribs and some severe bruising across his body."

"But there is something else …" Morgan tried to keep himself calm.

"Our major concern was his gunshot wound. Believe or not, the 6 mm did some real damage. The bullet after passing through the right lung, the bullet penetrated the right atrium, pierced through the atrial septum, punctured a hole near the posterior leaflet of the mitral annulus, and exited the heart on the left ventricle just near the circumflex artery close to the atrioventricular groove. The bullet then passed through the left lung and ended up between the eighth and ninth ribs. As he arrived, we placed Dr. Reid on urgent extracorporeal circulation.

"This circulation thing, what is it?"

"It is this technology which makes it possible for cardiac surgeons to work on the open heart. During extracorporeal circulation, the pump of the heart-lung machine takes over the work normally performed by the heart. It took us some time, but fortunately, we were able to fix the damage."

Morgan exhaled deeply, releasing the half of the burden he was holding on to. "What are his chances?"

"He is not out of the woods yet, but I am encouraged. At the same time, it is very important to carefully follow up with him. You have to understand, it is a major surgery, we have to keep him under control and make sure he doesn't suffer from any myocardial abnormalities, pericardial effusion, or valve-related problems."

"His road to recovery is not going to be an easy one." Morgan said.

The doctor nodded. "But with the help of everyone, I am hoping for him to survive this."

"He will. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. It's my job. Can I talk to the person who would be staying and taking care of Dr. Reid?"

Without any second thought, Morgan answered. "That would be me, doc."

"Okay, then. Take some rest first, you look exhausted yourself. Later, I would brief you on very important things that you should know."

"Can I see him?"

"He is being settled in his room as we speak. I will ask the nurse to get you when he is ready and you might want to keep this" The doctor said as he handed over an envelope.

Morgan took the envelope, carefully opened it and found a bullet on his palm.

"The magic bullet that went through your friend's heart." The doctor patted Morgan's shoulder. "Your friend is a lucky man, Agent."

**PS: The medical details about the gunshot is based on true story taken from American Heart Association.**

** Have a nice day. ****Sincere apologies for the mistakes. Please review.**

**Thank you.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, everyone.**

**Enjoy and looking forward to hear from all of you.**

"You got to be kidding me?"

"Do I sound like somebody kidding with you, Derek?" Garcia hissed down the phone, her eyes never left the sight of Hotch kneeling and comforting his son.

Morgan ran his fingers through his bald head as he sighed heavily. "Is JJ there beside you?"

"Yes," Garcia said as she turned to JJ. "Why?"

"Pass the phone to her."

Garcia said nothing, but passed the phone to JJ as she mouthed Derek to JJ.

"Hey Derek."

"JJ, listen to me." Morgan ordered. "Come and swap places with me here, my best chance is being there, see if I can find out more about the bomb."

"Why? You think Spence might be in danger?"

"No, but still I am not comfortable in leaving him alone until we catch this bastard."

"Sure, I will be there in fifteen minutes."

-CM-CM-CM-

Morgan disconnected the call and walked back into the private room. With a sad smile plastered on his face, Morgan ducked his face nearer to his fallen friend. His hand automatically intervened with Reid's.

"Hey." Morgan whispered. "It's Derek, Kid." Morgan thought if the introduction were necessary. "Doc said you're heavily sedated, but I believe you can hear and feel me." Morgan said as he ran his thumb on Reid's knuckles.

_"The breathing tube will stay in until he can breathe on his own, usually a few hours"_

The doctor's words echoed his Morgan's ears. It might be for a couple of hours, but Morgan doesn't like the fact that there's a tube down Reid's throat, helping him to breathe. Morgan wondered how uncomfortable it would be to have a tube down in a throat.

Morgan looked to the side and slightly taken aback by the number of machines Reid was hooked up with. He is not a medical doctor but he knew those were the important machines which keep tabs on Reid's heart rate, blood pressure and other vital signs. Morgan gently touched the small wires hooked up to Reid's lower chest to pace his heart.

_"You can beat this, Reid."_

Words danced around his mind. Morgan wondered if those were genuine words or mere words to comfort him.

Morgan still remembered the doctor's warning, not to bombard him with emotionally disturbing news. Morgan thought if Jack's name would trigger any bad response from Reid. Morgan knew by heart that they have to find Jack before Reid opens his eyes. Morgan also knew that if Jack were still to be in danger by the time Reid regains his consciousness, it would impact Reid badly.

-CM-CM-CM-

"Oh my." JJ said as she stood stuck at the door.

Morgan nodded, giving JJ encouragement she needed. JJ exhaled heavily before she walked in and took Morgan's other hand, stretching to her.

"You should have called someone else." JJ shook her head as she clasped her hand over her mouth. "This is just too much for me. Derek, I can't do this."

"Hey." Morgan whispered, giving JJ half hugs as he was still holding the Reid's hand. "I know how difficult it is for you, but he need some love and care right now and I can't think of anyone else except for you."

Morgan moved to a side and allowed JJ to walk nearer to Reid. Tears rolled down her cheeks when her sight settled on her son's godfather again. Being hooked up with many tubes and wires, Reid looked pale and puffy.

"He doesn't deserve any of this." JJ carefully bowed down and placed a loving kiss on Reid's forehead.

"Stay with him." Morgan said before he started to walk out of the room.

"Derek." JJ called just in time before he stepped out. "Be safe."

Morgan smiled. "We will, don't worry."

-CM-CM-CM-

"Morgan, what are you doing here?" Hotch asked.

"My best chance is here and you know it. Don't worry; JJ is in the hospital with Reid."

"How is he?" Hotch asked, with guilt visible in his tone.

"He's going to be okay and it is not your fault." Morgan said before jogged his way to Jack.

"Hey, buddy." Morgan said as he kneeled himself down, matching to Jack's height. "I am just going to have a look, okay?" Morgan smiled before he carefully checked the bomb.

"Is it going to blow up, Uncle Derek?"

"No." Morgan answered, confidently. "None of us are going to let it happen, especially your father."

Morgan turned and saw Kate sitting beside Jack, holding his hand. "Kate, you might want to…"

"I am not going anywhere until we take the bomb off him." Morgan opened his mouth to say something, but was cut by Kate again. "Save it, you know nothing going to make me to walk out this."

"Thanks." Morgan mumbled before he walked back to his team.

"So?" Oliver asked.

"Seems complicated and I don't want to take any risk. Any plan on what we are going to do?"

"He has asked for ten million dollars, Rossi is taking care of it." Hotch said. "I have to deliver it, alone, no backup, no tricks…" Hotch checked his watch. "In another two hours."

"Where to?" Morgan asked

Garcia came forward. "Prince William Forest Park. The park is the largest protected natural area in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region at over 19,000 acres"

"Based on the location, seems to me he has his escape plan fully planned." Morgan said.

"Money issue solved." Rossi came into view. "We will get it in another one hour."

"What… How did you?" Hotch asked, surprised.

"I did something."

"Dave, ten million dollars is a big money."

"We will be worrying it about later, okay? First, let's focus on getting Jack out of this."

"Hotch, were particularly did he asked you to drop off the money?" Oliver asked.

"He said I will receive a message once I reached the entrances."

"Garcia, if I am not mistaken, the park's landscaping and structures were designed by National Park Service architects" Oliver reconfirmed.

"Yes."

"Call them; we need the map of the park."

"Oliver, what are you thinking?" Hotch asked.

"He might think he has all well planned, but I have a surprise waiting for him."

**Have a nice day. ****Sincere apologies for the mistakes. Please review.**

**Thank you.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, everyone.**

**Enjoy and looking forward to hear from all of you.**

Hotch kissed his son's forehead carefully before he looked back into Jack's eyes.

"Dad." The boy called out, his voice was clearly shaking.

Hotch lightly squeezed Jack's shoulders, giving him the support he needed. "Jack, I have to leave now, but I will be back soon and I am going to fix this, okay?"

Jack simply nodded.

Hotch turned towards Kate and whispered. "Thank you for staying with him."

Kate smiled a little, "Don't worry about Jack; I will take care of him."

Hotch nodded towards her, gave another assuring smile to Jack, before he walked to his team. As he exhaled the heavy breath he was holding, Hotch said, "Let's do this."

"We still got another hour." Rossi said.

"Enough time for us to draw a backup plan." Oliver continued.

"What's going on with him?" Hotch asked, looking at the side of the road.

Both Rossi and Oliver followed Hotch's eyes and saw Morgan pacing back and forth at the road side with a file in his hands.

"Morgan." Hotch called, loud enough to get Morgan's attention.

"You do realize serious look doesn't suit your face." Rossi tried to lighten the atmosphere around.

"What are you thinking about?" Hotch asked.

"Why return the kids safely?" Morgan asked.

"Money was his only priority." Oliver answered.

Morgan opened the file he was holding. "According to the report, all the kidnapped kids reported that they were taken good care when they were held, nice food, warn environment …"

"What are you trying to say, Morgan?"

"What if Maria López wasn't really a part of all those kidnappings? What if she stayed behind just to save the kids or maybe her brother?"

"I think we need to talk to Maria." Morgan continued.

-CM-CM-CM-

JJ was too deep in her thoughts when a nurse walked in.

"Hi."

JJ snapped out of her thoughts by the sudden voice.

"I am just going to give his scheduled antibiotics." The nurse said.

"Can I see your badge?" Her FBI instincts kicked in.

The young lady flashed her badge and JJ took her badge into her hands.

"I am sorry, it's a procedure." JJ said when she finished checking. "Go ahead."

"Don't worry; Dr. Scott has briefed me the nature of this case."

"I am JJ." JJ introduced herself.

"I am Amy." She said before she smiled to herself. "I am sorry, you must have known; you checked my badge."

JJ smiled in return.

"It will surely take some time, but he will be alright." Amy said.

"He has too." JJ said, as she wiped the tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I know it's a hard time, but it will get better." Amy whispered some comforting words.

JJ nodded. "Thanks." She whispered as she took her seat back before holding Reid's hand.

"I guess he's the youngest in the team." Amy said without looking at JJ, giving Reid his much needed antibiotics.

JJ smiled upon hearing the word youngest, "How do you know?"

"We tend to be overprotective towards the young and besides, you should have seen Agent Morgan; he terrified the nurses while Dr. Reid was in surgery.

JJ chuckled for the first time after the horrified day she has been facing. "He's the big brother, what do you expect?"

Amy walked and stood facing JJ. "Let me let you something. I have seen worse cases everyday and I will strongly say all these surgeries, medicines are merely a procedure to save them. Based on the love you guys have for him, I don't think Dr. Reid is going anywhere soon."

"Thank you, Amy."

-CM-CM-CM-

Morgan sat opposite of Maria. "It's not easy to fight a brother like Alfonso."

Maria looked up, meeting Morgan's eye for the first time. However, she remained silent.

"You also thought that together with the kids, you can save him."

Maria's eyes meet Morgan yet again.

"But it didn't happen the way you wanted."

Morgan waited and when he knew she wasn't going to open up, Morgan placed a picture of Reid jumping on Morgan's back on the day they won the game.

"That's my brother, Spencer Reid, although I call him pretty boy."

Maria looked at the picture hesitantly.

"He is in the hospital with a bullet hole in his heart."

Maria looked up at Morgan.

"Thanks to your brother."

Maria shook her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I tried, I swear I tried. I am sorry"

"It's okay." Morgan whispered. "Do you want to save your brother now?"

"I can?"

"If you tell us everything you know, you can save him and also a lot others."

"What do you want to know?"

"Who is Black Eye?"

-CM-CM-CM-

Rossi came forward, dropping two bags on the table. "Money is ready."

"We better get going." Oliver checked his watch. "We got another half an hour."

Hotch turned back to Morgan. "You're sure about this plan?"

"More than anything."

Hotch took the bags in his hands. "Let's get going then."

-CM-CM-CM-

"Right here, Agent."

Hotch turned towards the voice. "I got the money." Hotch showed the bags he was holding.

"Toss it to the front."

Hotch gave his hands a little swing before he tossed the bag to his front, landing the bag on the ground.

"Your hands in the air where I can see them, Agent." The man warned as he showed the remote he was holding.

Hotch did as he was told.

"Oliver didn't send any greetings?"

"He did, Daniel."

The man looked up, his eyes grew wide.

"Now, Oliver!" Hotch yelled.

Before Daniel could proceed what was going on, a shot rang, sending the bullet right through Daniel's arm. Daniel cried in pain, before automatically dropping the remote on the ground.

Hotch took over the situation and tackled Daniel. In the process of forcefully tacking Daniel on the ground, Hotch gripped Daniel's neck before punching strongly two times directly to Daniel's face.

"How about that, Daniel?" Oliver asked, as he appeared behind Hotch with a sniper rifle in his hands.

Daniel chuckled despite the blood in his mouth.

Rossi walked over and took the remote from the ground. "I am going to take it back, the bomb squad will know what to do."

"Yeah, yeah." Daniel said, as he spit the blood out to his side. "Go and save the kid." Daniel looked down, meeting Hotch's eyes. As he smiled, Daniel asked "Who's going to save your agent in the hospital from Alfonso?"

-CM-CM-CM-

Alfonso adjusted the cleaner uniform he was wearing. As Alfonso kept his head down, he walked pass the crowd in the hallway towards the private room. Reaching his destination, Alfonso looked around and was pleased to see the agent he has shot hours ago alone in his room.

**Have a nice day. ****Sincere apologies for the mistakes. Please review.**

**Thank you.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, everyone.**

**Enjoy and looking forward to hear from all of you.**

_Alfonso looked around and was pleased to see the agent the he has shot hours ago alone in his room. _

Smiling to himself, Alfonso took a step forward as he raised his hand, reaching for the doorknob.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open. JJ rushed forward with gun raised up to the front. "FBI"

Alfonso was taken aback and tried to take diversion but was caught guard when he saw Morgan and two other agents standing behind him on each side with the barrel of gun pointed towards his face.

"You have some unfinished business to deal with, Alfonso?" Morgan asked sarcastically before he moved forward and forcefully handcuffed the man responsible for his best friend's condition.

Morgan shoved Alfonso harshly on the wall, before he used his muscular hands to strangle Alfonso.

"Derek!" JJ hissed, clearly shocked by Morgan's sudden outburst. She reached out and pulled Morgan's hands from Alfonso's throat just in time.

Alfonso's leg gave out and he crashed onto the floor, gasping for breath.

Morgan sat on his heels in front of Alfonso, matching his height. "You're lucky you still alive."

Alfonso coughed, his throat cried out in pain. His hands struggled with the handcuff, it was desperate to free itself, to reach to his throat, to massage it.

Morgan forcefully gripped a fistful of Alfonso's shirt, before raising him up and pushed him to the other agents behind him.

"Get him out of my sight." Morgan growled.

JJ watched as the agents walked Alfonso out before she reached forward and gently touched Morgan's shoulder.

"You saved him."

Morgan turned and his eyes stick to the view of Reid laying on the bed, with a tube to help him to breathe. "Not quite."

"Don't you ever doubt yourself." JJ warned in her motherly tone. "You figured this out."

"Just a lucky guess." Morgan shrugged.

"You have solved just in time, don't you think? It could have been a lot worse if it isn't not for you, Spencer could have died, and I could have been hurt."

Morgan remained silent, lost deep in his thought.

"Give yourself some credit, Derek."

"It's just not fair, JJ. I mean it was just months ago he was shot in the neck."

"I know." JJ whispered. JJ was about to continue, but dropped the idea when her phone buzzed.

"It's Rossi." JJ informed before she spoke.

"Hey … Yeah, everything is fine, we got him. How about Jack? Thank God, okay … see you in a while."

"What happened?" Morgan asked.

"They got Daniel." JJ smiled. "They also diffused the bomb. Jack is doing just fine, just a little shaken."

"Oh, thank god!" Morgan let his breath out.

"They are on the way to the hospital. Hotch wants Jack to be checked up, just in case and then others, you know they wouldn't go back without seeing Reid."

"JJ, why don't you go back? Just go back home, hug you boys … that's the best thing …"

"I can do after all that had happened today." JJ finished Morgan's sentences. "I know."

Morgan looked at JJ and he knew something was bothering her when he saw tears in the corner of her eyes.

"What am I supposed to tell Henry about Spencer?"

"Hey, come here." Morgan said before he enveloped JJ into a hug. "It's going to be okay."

"He always find out, all the time Spence gets hurt, he just knows." JJ buried herself in Morgan's hug.

"What do you expect?" Morgan smiled a little, as he rubbed JJ's back. "They have a very strong bond between them."

-CM-CM-CM-

Morgan walked back in after successfully sending JJ back home. Morgan walked closer to Reid, puffed out the breath he was holding as he held the railing of Reid's bed.

"Jack's okay." Morgan said, he knew Reid would want to hear those words. Morgan reached out and took Reid's hand carefully, not to disturb the oximeter attached to his finger. He lightly squeezed Reid's hand and mentally begged for a squeeze in return.

The next hour was the toughest of all. There were two things that Morgan hates, one; when Reid gets hurt and two; when Garcia cries.

It took a lot of efforts to console her and worst of all occurred when he had asked her to go back home. Thanks to Nurse Amy, for saving the situation. Only one person was allowed to stay back with the patient. Garcia halfheartedly went back home and promised to back early in the morning tomorrow with decoration to brighten Reid's room.

-CM-CM-CM-

"Hey." Morgan whispered, bringing Hotch back into reality. "How is Jack?"

"The doctor is checking, just to be sure. Jessica is with him."

After a moment of silence, "This is the worse, Morgan." Hotch said with his eyes fixed on Reid.

"It could have been a lot worse."

Hotch looked at Morgan. "Look at him, Morgan. How could you say that this is not the worse?" Hotch argued in a low voice.

"Both Jack and Reid could have died, but none of that happened, so this still is not the worse."

"Jack has been asking for Reid ever since they took the bomb of him."

"Take him back home tonight, Hotch. Today was just too much for him. All his questions can wait for tomorrow."

"Can you give us a minute?" Hotch asked.

"I heard the chocolate pudding in the cafeteria is nice." Morgan patted Hotch's back before he walked out of the room.

Hotch smiled a little before he looked back to Reid.

"I just want to say thank you, Reid." Hotch stroked his thumb on the back of Reid's hand.

"I know you would probably wake up and blame yourself for what had happened, but don't you dare, don't you dare to blame yourself."

"Because if you do …" Hotch inhaled before he continued. "Then I should blame myself, because if I didn't ask you to take Jack out for lunch, none of this would have happened in the first place."

"I trusted you, still do and the trust will always remain the same."

Hotch squeezed Reid's hand. "Just come back to us, Reid." Hotch blinked his eyes, and his tears dropped down on the back on Reid's hand.

Almost instantly, Hotch felt it, it was too light, but Hotch felt Reid's hand returning his squeeze.

"Reid?" Hotch called.

Hotch smiled when tears leaked out of Reid's closed eye lid, rolling its way to the side. Hotch reached over and wiped the tears.

Perhaps Morgan was right, this was not the worst of all.

**Have a nice day. ****Sincere apologies for the mistakes. Please review.**

**Thank you.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, everyone.**

**Enjoy and looking forward to hear from all of you.**

Nurse Amy walked pass few others in the hallway to the private room and saw Agent Morgan walking back and forth with his hands on his hips in front of the room, immersed in his thought.

"I heard a lot happened during my break time." Amy voice startled Morgan.

Morgan stopped in front Amy with arms crossed across his chest. "Yeah, but everything is under control."

"I heard about that too."

Morgan smiled in return. "You are here all the time, is there anything I should worry about?

"Oh, no." Amy quickly took pressure off Morgan's shoulder. "Usually after major surgery, we keep an eye on the patient to monitor their progress."

"When do you think he will wake up?"

"Some people wake up an hour or two after surgery, but most take longer."

"I guess he falls in the most category."

"Don't worry, Agent Morgan, your friend has been showing good progress so far. Wait, I got something for you." Amy said before she walked away.

Morgan raised his eyebrows, not knowing was Amy was up to but however waited patiently for her to return.

"I am not tired." Morgan said when he saw Amy walking back with a pillow and blanket in her hands.

"Says the man who walks like eighty years old and did you realize that you have already yawned twice?" Amy pushed the pillow and blanket towards Morgan chest.

"I am perfectly capable of staying awake for another couple of hours."

"Go and sleep, Agent Morgan. I will wake you up if anything changes." Am motioned towards the couch at the corner of the room. "That couch is quite comfortable."

"Thanks and it's either Derek or Morgan."

"You're welcome, Derek."

-CM-CM-CM-

Hotch stroked his thumb over Haley's photo. "I am sorry for what had happened today. I know you were watching over him. I won't let anything happen to Jack. I promise."

"Daddy?" Jack called, leaning on the doorframe.

Hotch placed the photo frame back on his nightstand.

"Can I sleep with you, Daddy?" Jack asked as he held his favorite blanket against his chest.

"Of course, Jack. Come here." Hotch called as he patted on the bed beside him.

Almost immediately Jack ran in, he jumped into Hotch's lap and wrapped his hands around his father's neck. "I thought I would never see you again."

"Hey…" Hotch whispered. "It's all okay now." Hotch continued to whisper assuring words in Jack's ears as he kept Jack warn in his hug.

"Is Uncle Spencer going to be alright?"

Hotch could feel Jack shaking in his arms. "They shot him!"

"Buddy…" Hotch held as such he could face his son.

"It happened so fast." The boy said. "There's nothing I could do."

"Jack, it's not your fault." Hotch reassured him. "Jack, look at me, buddy."

Jack looked at his father with his little hands still clinging to his father.

"Sometimes, things don't turn out in the way we want, but that doesn't mean we can give up."

Hotch resumed. "Uncle Spencer is going to take some time to get better."

"But he will be okay, right?"

Hotch nodded. "You know Uncle Spencer doesn't give up."

"Can we go see him tomorrow?"

"We can." Hotch ran his fingers through Jack's hair. "But he might not be awake."

"Can I read for him, then?"

"I think he will love it."

-CM-CM-CM-

Hotch pushed the door open and entered into the room filled with nothing but the beeping of the machine. Hotch couldn't hide his smile when he saw Morgan sleeping peacefully on the couch. He walked over and picked up the blanket on the floor and covered it on Morgan. Morgan mumbled something to himself before he turned to his side and resumed sleeping.

Hotch walked back to Reid's bed and was about to push few strands of hair of Reid's forehead when he saw Reid's eye balls moving uncontrollably under its closed lids.

Hotch hurriedly pressed the button and held Reid's hands.

"Reid, it's okay. It's safe." He assured and slightly squeezed it to show his support.

Almost instantly, Reid's eyes opened, blinking rapidly, looking lost.

Hotch touched the side of Reid's head and allowed his face to fill Reid's vision.

"Reid, you're in the hospital."

"Ho…tch." Reid slurred.

"Yes, it's me."

"Jack?"

"He's okay. He's at home, safe. We got him back." Hotch hurriedly assured again.

"Hmp." Reid mumbled to himself, before he closed his eyes and drifted off.

-CM-CM-CM-

Morgan yawned as he rubbed his eyes with his knuckles. He stretched himself, he could feel each and every single part of his muscles screaming in exhaustion.

Morgan kept laying lazily on the couch, as he glanced over to Reid's bed. Morgan kicked himself up, into sitting position as fast as lighting when his eyes fell on Reid. Morgan checked his watch and realized he had slept more than he had expected.

"Had a good sleep?"

Morgan jerked upon hearing the sudden voice. "Hotch, what are doing here?" Morgan yawned before he continued. "It's still early."

"I thought I would stop by."

Morgan leaned on the couch, grab a water bottle from the table beside him before he gulped down few mouthful of water to satisfy his thirst.

"You should be at home with Jack."

"He's still asleep. Jessica is with him. I thought I would stop by before Jack wakes up."

Morgan moved the curtain to aside to allow the ray of sunlight to brighten the room.

"He was awake a while ago."

"Who? Reid?" Morgan asked, turning to face Hotch.

"Yes, but not for long."

"What did the doctor said?" Morgan asked for more information.

"He's breathing on his own. Other than that, his vitals seem stronger than yesterday."

"Good, good." Morgan mumbled to himself.

Hotch checked his watch. "If you want to go back and have a quick shower, I could cover for you."

Morgan did some mental calculation and agreed. "I will be back in a while."

-CM-CM-CM-

Morgan packed some essential things and hurried back to the hospital.

"What happened?" Morgan asked, panicked when he saw Hotch standing outside and looking into the room.

Hotch said nothing, but pointed towards the room.

Morgan stood beside Hotch and peeked into the room. Morgan's lips curved into a smile when he saw Jack laying on his stomach, on Reid's bed, reading a book.

"Jessica had to bring him, she said she had no choice."

Morgan chucked. "I am not surprised. He's stubborn as his father."

"Did you just say I'm stubborn?"

"Just enjoy the moment, Hotch." Morgan motioned towards Jack, reading to Reid.

**Have a nice day. ****Sincere apologies for the mistakes. Please review.**

**Thank you.**


End file.
